Bregenz is found on the western side of Austria and the eastern side of Lake Constance, a lake that spans three countries and is full of possibilities for the tourist willing to stay awhile on its shores. It is most famous for a summer world-class music and opera festival called the Bregenzer Festspiele, the Bregenz Festival.

Each other year a work is performed on the massive floating stage called the Seebühne, clearly seen on our map. A concrete core anchored in Lake Constance houses the costume and dressing room, the machine rooms and the orchestra pit for the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.

Wooden piles are driven into Lake Constance to support the performance stage, which must be two-thirds bigger then normal due to its distance from the audience. It must be waterproof, light, and must withstand gales of up to 70km/hour. All materials must be disposed of in an "environmentally-friendly" way after the second season. No synthetic materials are used and the wood is not impregnated to make it waterproof and fireproof; it is simply doused with lake water regularly so that it can then be reused in building or as firewood after the the season.

Map of Bregenz

The floating stage is centered in the map below. Zoom in to see more detail, out to view the city.

Bregenz Travel Toolbox

Bregenz has a train station called Bahnhof Bregenz; the tracks are visible on the bottom of the map. You can rent bicycles at the station. There are daily connections to Vienna making stops at Linz, Salzburg, and Innsbruck.